Winter Wonderland

Reminiscing...

Growing up in the south Texas, there were few chances of snow. It was every kid's dream to see that white powdery stuff! Snow in Texas is a rare thing to come by, kind of like Big Foot or Chupacabra- you know it's real because people have seen it, but still not sure you believe. The first time I remember seeing snow (mix of sleet and snow, but some snow nonetheless) was in 1998 (I'm pretty sure that was the year). I was excited and not just because I got to miss 3 days of school... I was finally able to see snow in real life rather than on some movie or television show. It was so much fun playing and making snow angels (even though it was kind of a muddy snow slushie)! Our tank even iced over, well at least the shallow parts did. 

In 2006, it snowed Christmas Eve or Christmas day. Not really anything that stuck, but I did make a small snowman from what little snow I collected from the vehicles. It was gone within a few hours. 2009, I was in my second year of college when there was a small accumulation of snow that stuck, but by morning was pretty much nonexistent. In 2010, the snow was a little greater. I remember riding the bus to campus and some waterline had burst because of the frozen pipes near the bus stop on campus. We were warned to be careful, but I don't think anyone realized how much ice had accumulated on the sidewalk and street. The first person off the bus fell instantly on top of the ice. Luckily, the bus had few passengers so the rest of the passengers (myself included) took our time so as not to end up like the first  guy! 

In 2012, I found myself in Louisiana. I had just started a job and had to work over the Christmas holidays. Jacob had gone to visit family. When I came home from work Christmas day, it had snowed inside the house! Well, not actual snow. I had closed our pup in one room and he ate the couch. White stuffing was everywhere! I do think it even snowed a little (for real) that day, but disappeared once it hit the ground. 2013, Louisiana had more ice than snow. I got off work and headed home. The roads were already icing over and it was sleeting some. The gravel trucks had already been over the roads. By the time I got home, the spaces between my tires and car were filled with sand and ice! 

All those memories of snow are special in their own way. However, this past snow was really spectacular!

An English Snow

Friday (Jan 30), I had taken our dog out to play in a small field near our home before the forecasted rain and possible snow were to hit. We were outside for maybe 5 minutes or so throwing ball. I was already thinking we need to head in when we were engulfed by snow flurries. After about 30 seconds, came strong wind with heavy large snowflakes! I think we survived a mini blizzard!

I know I'm being a little over-dramatic. My friends and relatives that come from up north would say this is nothing, but for a southern girl, it was unlike anything I've ever seen. It was sensational! Our dog loved it! He kept looking to the sky to watch the snow fall. I decided to stay and enjoy the snowfall until I couldn't stand the cold. Finally, when my nose felt cold to the bone, we headed inside. The snow fell for about 30 minutes, dusting the ground in a thin layer of fluffy whiteness!
Saturday morning it was snowing again. It wasn't as heavy as the day before, didn't last long, and fell in periodic bursts. The last few days had been nothing but a teaser.

The real deal came Monday evening. I'm not exactly sure when it started snowing, but it was snowing when I looked outside about 8 and continued to fall until past midnight. It was like a continuous snow globe experience! This time, the snow was a couple inches high and packed that when you walked on it, the snow crunched! I would check the window about every 30 minutes or so to see if the snow had stopped and how much it had progressed. I went to bed feeling like a little kid on Christmas, excited to see the winter wonderland the morning would hold.

My dog and I got up this morning, took our camera, and went walking through our neighborhood enjoying the beautiful whiteness! When we were nearing the end of walk, it started to sleet! I got excited that maybe we'd get just a little more snow. Sadly, it was not meant to be. Now, the snow is melting away. For our dog, he's happy because that means we can go throw ball tomorrow. For me, it's good because that means the temperature outside went up (not a big fan of the cold), but sad too because it was nice to have a(nother) reason to be inside drinking hot chocolate or hot tea and curl up with a good book!